Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

Time slips away from us more and more quickly every year. As a result, the time we can allot for reading shrinks at the same speed. Because of this, readers must carefully choose which books deserve their time. In order to enhance their ability to choose wisely, many readers look to review sites to augment their decision making process. However, a good number of review sites, even highly respected ones, simply churn out simple plot outlines (that are very similar to the text on the back cover of the book) punctuated with a thumbs up or down graphic. Readers deserve more.

In order to help readers make enlightened decisions, the goal of Rougeski Reads is to offer a more in-depth analysis of novels. Yes, plot is very important. However, much more should be considered. With this in mind, reviews will address higher levels of analysis. These aspects will be visually broken down in a review box at the bottom of each review. Categories that will be considered include:

Plot: Is the plot intriguing and well thought out?Characters: Are the players engaging, believable?Setting: Is the setting interesting, and does it support the action and clearly contribute to the story?Complexity: How deep is the text? A low score means that the read is quick and easy. A high score denotes higher reading levels which by their nature insist on a larger time investment by the reader.Literary Quality: Does the text operate on more than a simple surface level? Does it make use of literary elements such as symbolism and foreshadowing and so much more?Originality: Has this plot been used many times before, or has the author blazed a new trail that gives evidence of great creative abilities?

Last but not least, instead of the ubiquitous thumbs, Alphonse Alligator simplifies the whole process by offering sage advice to readers not interested in details or percentages. If Alphonse is smiling, he likes the book. If he gazes above and appears lost, he is undecided. If he glares at the book with an evil scowl, he is very unhappy with the book.

Reviews that do not include the enlightened assistance of the discerning Alphonse were most likely written by guest reviewers.

Authors who wish to request a review should join my email list. I will post current submission details.

Smooth, graceful, with a whiplash plot trajectory. Bring Her Home by David Bell should be required reading for all novice writers. This is how it should be done. Even though the missing-child plot is not [more]

The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova may not be as clear of a departure from her first novel–The Historian–as some may believe. No. There is no longed-for return of Dracula or any of his minions. [more]

Solar and Lunar Symbolism: The Matter of Containment in A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance A.S. Byatt’s Possession: A Romance is a text that can be entered through many doors. Once inside, a reader is assailed [more]

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Cauchemar Media

Cauchemar Media

Publications

Behind Lace Curtains

Jake Preston, New York photographer, spent his life searching for something more, a magic he could never quite perceive--yet he always let the lens see for him. He hungered for a revelation, but was terrified at the prospect of finding one . . . until he discovered his lover, dead on his blood-spattered bathroom floor, and on a mirror, a Cajun French message scrawled in fresh blood, the words merging with his reflection like sordid war paint.

Even though he cannot translate the scarlet message, he knows what it means. The murder is his fault--blood for blood.
With unblinking eyes, Jake smears the haunting words into a meaningless blur of red and then with scarlet-stained fingers transcribes the message onto his flesh, transferring the bloodguilt onto his soul, completing the ritual by painting his face with a glistening mask of red. He knows what he has to do.

Jimmy and Julia, two college students, are haunted by oppressive memories of tyrannical, deceased mothers; Julia responds by becoming a reclusive overachiever and Jimmy, a serial killer. Their lives become inextricably intertwined by a shared fixation for a missing library book that contains marginalia detailing plans for the brutal murder of a local woman.

Julia, believing she has uncovered information that can stop a string of serial killings, struggles to find a way to prevent the murderer from striking again, never realizing she has embarked on a perilous, unconscious quest for freedom from the past.
And Jimmy goes hunting . . . for Julia.